In The Eyes of Delayed Gratification

 

Way back in the day, I saw what I remember as a full-page ad for Century Media's 1991 death metal compilation, In The Eyes of Death. As a budding death metal enthusiast, the title and artwork fascinated me but I bought one because money was tight and full-length albums were higher on my list of things to get. Never seeing a copy in the wild didn't help, either. Last week, after 30+ years, I finally got a copy. It does not disappoint.

Beyond nostalgia and Axel Hermann's incredible cover art, what makes this comp special is that it captures demo tracks from 6 important death metal bands at the birth of their careers: Unleashed, Asphyx, Tiamat, Morgoth, Grave, and Loudblast. Five of them would go on to lengthy relationships with Century Media (Loudblast went elsewhere, largely France's Listenable Records).

Here's the tracklist for the US CD pressing*:

1. Unleashed, "Unleashed"
2. Unleashed, "Dead Forever"
3. Unleashed, "In They Had Eyes"
4. Asphyx, "Wasteland of Terror"
5. Asphyx, "Pages In Blood"
6. Tiamat, "A Winter Shadow"
7. Tiamat, "Ancient Entity"
8. Morgoth, "Burnt Identity"
9. Morgoth, "Travel"
10. Grave, "Eroded"
11. Grave, "Putrefaction Remains"
12. Grave, "Haunted"
13. Loudblast, "Outlet For Conscience"
14. Loudblast, "Psalm 9" (Trouble cover)
15. Loudblast, "Punishment"

Hearing these songs as they were originally mixed and mastered in 1990/1991 is an absolute delight. Instruments are cleanly separated and carry their own weight and punch instead of being mashed into a sonic brick as we get today. Just look at those gorgeous waveforms at the end of this post. The simple but well-designed booklet includes descriptions of each band, along with notes on the recordings:

Unleashed: Recorded December 1990 at Nobel Studios, Bielefeld / Germany.
Asphyx: Recorded at Harrow Productions, Losser / Holland.
Tiamat: Recorded at Sunlight Studio, Stockholm / Sweden the 9th and 10th of November 1990.
Grave: Recorded October 1990 at Nobel Studios, Bielefeld / Germany.

Loudblast: Recorded January 1991 at Nobel Studios, Bielefeld / Germany. Mixed in France.

Over the years, many of these tracks have been remastered for various reissues of the full-lengths they’re associated with. The remasters aren't terrible, but they're compressed, limited, and a bit hard on the ears. 

Needless to say, I couldn't happier to finally own an original copy of this beautifully recorded snapshot of death metal's infancy. If only Century Media had produced a few more of these, a'la Relapse's At Death's Door and Nuclear Blast's Death ...Is Just The Beginning.

---

* Other countries and other formats got different track selections, so the US pressing is really the one to get if you're after the most material.

Waveforms